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London plans a 24-kilometre system that would run on L- and 7-shaped routes bisecting London, with downtown as the fulcrum: One line would run north to Masonville Place (potentially through the Western University campus) and east to Fanshawe College; the other south to White Oaks Mall and west to Wonderland Road.

THE EARLY PLAN

Council voted unanimously for its “preferred preliminary option” to be light rail running on the north and east lines, with express buses running on the south and west lines. It’s similar to the system Kitchener-Waterloo is building. The cost estimate? $880 million. That was just a place-holder that allowed city staff to further study the entire issue.

THE CURRENT PLAN

City staff are back, and recommend dropping the light rail component and running buses only on all four routes. It would still be rapid transit, but critics fear the city-building benefits linked to light rail — such as attracting transformative infill development — will be lost. The price tag? $500 million. While the mayor backs this new approach, several councillors say few new facts have emerged since November, and they question the shift to a bus-only recommendation.

WHAT’S NEXT

City council will likely decide which system to pursue by month’s end, allowing staff to start seeking funding from the provincial and federal Liberals. But Coun. Jesse Helmer is pushing council to hear from Londoners one more time before that decision is made. Council will this Tuesday debate whether to schedule one more public meeting.

THE FUNDING FORMULA

Whatever system London pursues, its contribution is capped at $129 million, most of that coming from development charges that are tacked onto new construction. That’s obviously nowhere near the traditional one-third share needed for the $880-million rail-bus system. Questions have been raised about the provincial and federal governments’ willingness to pick up the nearly $700 million difference. Keep in mind, though, that Queen’s Park is willing to pay 100 per cent of Hamilton’s light rail construction costs, up to a whopping $1 billion.

THE POLITICS

Deputy mayor Maureen Cassidy says she’s received “pushback” on the $880-million price tag, but won’t say from whom. That’s irked local Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos, who’s made no secret of his unhappiness. London MPP Deb Matthews, Ontario’s deputy premier, says she’s open to discussing light rail funding, though she offered a notable caveat this week: “If it can be justified,” she said. The mayor doesn’t want London to even request funding for light rail, pushing instead the less-expensive bus-only system. That’s frustrated several councillors who can’t understand the hesitancy. Brown believes the bus-only system is financially responsible.

RAIL ROUSING

Coun. Jesse Helmer has started an online petition for Londoners to sign in support of seeking enough funding to build light rail. As of Thursday, it had nearly 700 supporters at helmer.ca/lrt

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

From a transit perspective — that is, moving more people more efficiently across London — bus rapid transit is a great solution. London Transit officials are happy with it, and deputy mayor Maureen Cassidy says it’s “what we need right now.” But for rail advocates and experts here and elsewhere, there are city-building benefits to light rail, such as sparking infill development, and creating the kind of compact growth proposed in the London Plan, that simply can’t be matched by a bus-only system. For others, it’s even more simple: London can either seek a $500-million investment or one that’s worth nearly $900 million — which is better?